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PSALM XXXVII, 23. 
I he steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. 



A 



SERMON 



By C, D, BRADLEE, 



1 



Pastor of the Church at Harrison Square, Dorchester District, Hoston, Mass. 



Sunday, September 25, 1881, 



THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER THE DEATH OF 



\-. Hon. JAMES A. GARFIELD, LL. D. 



President of the United States. 



BOSTON: 

PRESS OF NATHAN SAWYER & SON, 
Xo. 70 State Street. 

1881 . 



> 



PSALM XXXVII, 23. 
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. 



A 

SERMON 

By C, D. BRADLEE, , 

Pastor of the Church at Harrison Square, Dorchester District, Boston, Mass. 

Sunday, September 25, 1881, 

THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER THE DEATH OF 

Hon. JAMES A. GARFIELD, LL. D., 

President of the United States. 



BOSTON: 

PRESS OF NATHAN SAWYER .*c SON, 

No. 70 State Street. 

18S1. 



nJ 



v>\; 



,5f/ 






/ 



SERMON. 



" The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord." 
PsAi.M xxxvii, 23. 

"^TO man can be called prosperous, or happy, 
-^^ or good, until the earthly life has been 
finished ; no measurement can be taken of 
character, no absolute prophecy can be made 
concerning destiny, no congratulations can be 
offered, no encouragements given, no safe ap- 
plause bestowed, until the curtain of life falls, 
and the great actor is dismissed. 

" I am surprised at nothing," says one ; and 
"there must be a first time," says another; and 
"be not hasty to praise," say a great many ; and 
all speak, as they are moved by the one great 
thouiiht of the uncertainty of all things, of the 
changeableness of conduct, and of the various 
side issues that invade all lives at every point. 
How many people, in the world's history, who 
have stood high almost to the last moment of 
their existence, have become at last submerged, 
and overpowered, and disgraced, and have van- 
ished from sight, amid the anguish or the exe- 
cration of many a heart; and so, how many 
people have begun their life at- zero, and have 



staid at zero for a long time, and then, all at 
once, or by slow and sure steps, have marched 
into honor, and usefulness, and power, and 
glory, and have held to their place to the very 
end, and perhaps there have been, in the long 
run, as man\' advances, as slips; as many pro- 
motions, as degrfcdations ; as large a number of 
ascents, as of tails : and again, I say, we cannot 
judge of a life till that life has closed this side 
of Heaven, and gone up to God. 

Then again, when we speak of a good man, 
or woman, or child, we do not mean absolute 
goodness, for, of course, perfect goodness can be 
credited to no mere mortal, and perfection can- 
not be found in any being not divine, and 
we only mean a superlative goodness ; and 
yet there are some who exceed in nobility of 
character a majority of their fellow-beings, and 
such people we call good, and w^e have a right 
to call them good. 

Of course none of us can stand up and say, 
" I am thoroughly true," for the ver}' claim, made 
by our own lips, would prove that the speaker 
was untrue, immodest, and worth but very little ; 
for we should then detect pride, and assumption, 
and by-ends, and a considerable tinge of hypoc- 
risy, for no one can measure self justly. Yet 
we all can look at another person and say, good, 
and true, and noble ; and we may say it sin- 
cerely, and with admiration, and gratitude, and 
real delight : lor looking at a noble person makes 



us proud of the best side of human nature, and 
thankful to God for the possibilities that He has 
lavished upon his children, and glad that some 
have climbed high up the ladder that reaches to 
Heaven, and thoroughly ashamed of ourselves 
that we fall so far below those at whom we gaze, 
that we have been so neglectful of our truest 
interests, and that our possible has never been 
consecrated in our actual, and thoroughly dis- 
heartened that we have staid so long in the 
marsh, when we might as well have been at the 
top of the mountain. 

When we look at a character and call it irood, 
we mean a character where goodness is, or has 
been, the predominant motive, the ruling desire, 
the constant thought, and the regulator of a 
large majority of the deeds ; specks of course 
in all characters, for there are specks found in 
the sun ; crevices somewhere, perhaps, for the 
noblest of mountains have their seams, and 
rents, and openings ; with varied shades, per- 
haps, for the giant hills have several signs of 
beauty, as they shift their colors, according to 
the time of day, or the tone of the air, or the 
perfection, or the imperfection of the eye that 
looks at them ; yet, these characters that we call 
good, like the sun, or like the mountains, are 
really great, and grand, and beautiful, and holy, 
and truly loom up in massive splendor, and 
evoke the reverent thankfulness of all who study 
their graceful proportions. 



Let us suppose, lor a moment, a character 
that we can call good, without any impeachment 
of the phrase, without any muffling of our 
conscience, without any degradation to our soul, 
and without any fears of a challenge from any 
critical lips. 

Look at it in boyhood, and we claim that then 
there must be obedience, and truth, and love, 
and purity, and activit}', and holiness. Suppose 
that it starts, under unfavorable circumstances, in 
a log-hut, if you will, in almost a wilderness, 
surrounded by pinching poverty, with a hard 
battle to fight from the very beginning of exist- 
ence ; whv, then, we must look for courage, and 
faith, and perseverance, and a laudable pride to 
conquer circumstances, and take a position in 
the world ; a life, though shaded in the tender 
years, yet so glorified by fidelity, that the lookers 
on will be astonished, and careful minds will 
predict a splendid future. 

Suppose, as the years advance, that this 
character, or, if you choose to put it so, this 
3'oung man of our imagination, longs to be 
thoroughly educated, feels beating powers in his 
mind, grasps after mighty ideas, and is deter- 
mined to become a thinker and a giver out of 
thoughts; why, then, the young man must give 
his spare time to books, and obtain the friendship 
of instructors, and plod patiently along, step by 
step, through preparatory studies, till the prelim- 
inary branches being mastered, an entrance into 



College is obtained ; and then, our friend, in his 
college-life, must be constantly industrious, tilled 
with high moral principle, thoroughly pure, and 
really religious, and never ashamed, if the trial 
should come, of showing the banner of religion, 
and of standing by the right through every 
contingency. 

But let us carry our imagination a little 
further, and let us suppose that our hero gradu- 
ates with honor, with the respect of the 
professors and the president, with the love of his 
class-mates, and with a good name, that is better 
than riches, and then becomes a teacher, and 
finally the President of a College, and we know 
just what he will teach, just the power that will 
leap out of his teaching ; and we know that his 
grand aim will be to make true men, and noble 
women, and correct thinkers, and good citizens ; 
and we know that those who are fortunate enough 
to be labelled as his pupils, will bear his mark 
with them, in their accomplishments, and graces, 
and powers. 

For, says the great John Milton, "The end of 
learning is to know God, and out of that knowl- 
edge to love Him, and to imitate Him, as we 
may the nearest, by possessing our souls of true 
virtue." So the pupils of the one we are trying 
to sketch will be filled with virtue, and holiness, 
and peace ; because the teacher is himself a 
glorious embodiment of the same. 

But go a step further, and let us imagine that 



a great ci\il-\var springs up, and men are needed 
who shall take the lead, men of bravery, men of 
action, men of wisdom, and experience, and 
insight, and we shall expect that our gifted one 
will take a place as a commander, and that he 
will receive continually promotion after promo- 
tion, and honor after honor, and in time we 
should not be surprised, should he be sent to 
Congress, and there will he try to do his duty, 
there will his speeches do him great credit, there 
will he gain the reputation, the pre-eminent 
reputation of a true patriot, and scholar, and 
statesman. 

Then, again, in order that we may finish the 
picture, we desire to have our hero called to the 
highest place of responsibility, and we look, of 
course, for that final ste^ of power, the assump- 
tion of the Presidential office, and then we know 
that we shall find the same person, the good 
boy, the faithful young man, the gifted teacher, 
the experienced legislator, all developed into 
the gentle, and the wise, and the thoughtful, 
and the loving President, and we shall not be 
disappointed ! 

But why need I speak now of any case that 
might be, why need I create an ideal personage, 
why need 1 call upon my imagination to illus- 
trate what seems to be a good character on its 
most fortunate side, why any fanciful delineation, 
when our hearts, — all our hearts, and the 
hearts of all the people all over tiie world, in 



high places, and in low places, are now mourn- 
ing for one who, in his earthly life, was an actual 
embodiment of that which I have, till just this 
moment, called merely the possible P why should 
I not speak of what has been, of what is no 
more on the mortal side, of our beloved President 
who has fallen asleep, of that good boy, that 
true pupil, th'at noble collegian, that conscien- 
tious officer, that gifted legislator, that beloved 
head of the nation, and, when stricken down, 
that resigned child of God, who is now a saint 
in Heaven. 

//e started from the log-cabin in the wilder- 
ness, and he passed away occup3ing a position 
the greatest in the land ; and he was one who 
was universally acknowledged as a man of 
massive intellect, of large heart, of a lovincr 
soul, strong in endurance, ready in utterance, 
and having a healthy, living, and glorious and 
submissive faith. 

Look at the eighty days of his prostration, 
and you hear no murmur, no w^ords uttered 
against the assassin, and you behold a perfect 
resignation to the will of Almighty God ! O, as 
we think of his letter to his wife when he was 
first injured, of his few words to his aged 
mother, of his gentle greetings in his sick 
chamber, of all his dear ones, and of his 
constant respect to his medical attendants, when 
we think of his glorious clinging /o h/s one 
chance f 07- life, and yet of his willingness to go, 



I" 



lO 



if God should so order — when we hear him 
speak so lovingly, towards the last, of the United 
States, we feel that we have lost not only our 
President, but our brother, our father, our 
dearest friend, and as we find that his last words 
are about the great pain in his heart, O, a great 
pain comes to our hearts, and this, his dying 
telegram, bows us low in grief. 

The steps of a good man are ordered by the 
Lord. 

But can we say that the last days of our noble 
President were ordered by the Lord ? Can we 
see the Lord's hand, as we think of the shot of 
the assassin, and of the days and weeks of pain, 
and of the tears of the world? Can we see the 
Lord's hand in permitdng one of the greatest 
nations upon the earth, to be at the mercy of the 
freak of the murderer, so that hco of our Presi- 
dents, who have represented law, and order, and 
justice, and humanity, have been dismissed from 
life, with but little warning, and at the bidding 
of a demoniacal spirit? 

Yes, we must believe in the Lord's hand 
fnally over-ruling all things for good, else 
" Booth " and " Guiteau " have, in some respects, 
a power of withstanding God, and if the Ruler 
of the world, can, in any one thing, \ni fnally 
conquered, where are we my friends? 

It is uot the hour for skepticism, but the time 
for faith, and courage, and submission, and 
patience, and a tender waiting for the revelations 



II 



of the Almighty, for. out of this great darkness, 
in His own good time, and by His own gracious 
way, and in a wonderful manner, will God bring 
light. 

Our President is safe ! He is promoted, and 
cleansed, and glorified, and at work with the 
angels of God, doing the will of the Almighty. 
He would not come back now, for he fills a 
greater place than man can give to him, does a 
richer work than any work that he could have 
possibly done here, and he has received eternal 
life ! But, O, how is it with us, stricken as we 
are, heavy as are the clouds around us, mighty 
as is our loss? 

Well, God will not forsake us, for His eye 
will watch, and His hand will uplift, and His 
love will sustain, and His mercy will save every 
one who looks above, seeking the never failing 
grace. 

He will be there, in that deserted home, 
honored so much on the fourth of March, of 
this eventful year, and ever since the fourth so 
beset by storms I He will be there, with those 
faithful, and favored, and bewildered members 
of the Council, who have been privileged a little 
while to have the fellowship, and the friendship, 
and the benedictions of a noble spirit, whose 
influence can never die out ! 

He will be there with that absent and aged 
and affectionate mother, whose last days have 
been so deluged with tears, for He is the God of 



12 



the widow and the fatherless, and He has 
anointed with a peculiar ^race, and beauty, and 
holiness, that dear word. Mother. 

He will be there, when the Senate and the 
House are assembled, as the members shall be 
informed that the earthly life of the Executive 
has been quenched, and he will give to" each and 
all the spirit of eloquence, and unction, and 
sympathy, and tenderness, and trust. 

He will be there, with the one, who, by the 
laws of tlie land, and by the votes of the people 
made long ago, should such a possible contin- 
gency occur, has become now the head of the 
nation, and who knows, but that God will per- 
mit the mantle of the departed prophet to fall 
upon his successor, and thus send to that suc- 
cessor, in all future days, a new power, and a 
grand spirit, and a massive glory, so that hi& last 
days shall be crowned with a peculiar honor. 

And God will be with our Country, and will 
hold us all up in the hollow of his blessed hand. 

The items of our President's life are familiar 
to you all. Let me briefly recall them : 

James A. Garfikld was born in a log-hut, 
in the wilderness, in Orange, Ohio, November 
19th, 1831. He lost his father when very young, 
and had a terrible struggle with poverty for 
many years, but at last fitted himself for Williams 
College, where he graduated in 1S56. He 
studied law, practised at the Bar, occasionally 
taught school, and was, for a while, the honored 
President of a College. 



13 



He was a member of the Senate of Ohio, from 
1859 to i860, and entered service in the Civil 
War in 1861 as Colonel, and was promoted to 
Brigadier-General, and entered the House of 
Representatives at Washington, December 5th, 
1863, and just as he was about to take his 
seat in the Senate, he was chosen President of 
the United States, being inaugurated March 
4th, 1881. 

At a meeting of his class-mates, that was held 
on the evening of March 3d, just before he took 
the oath of office as President, he said : 

" This honor came to me unsought : I have 
never had the Presidential fever, no not even 
for a day ; nor have I it to-night. I have no 
feelings of elation in view of the position I am 
called upon to fill. I would thank God were I 
to-day a free lance in the House or the Senate. 
But it is not to be, and I will go forward to 
meet the responsibilities and discharge the duties 
that are before me with all the firmness and 
ability I can command." 

Since he was President, and up to the dav of 
his death, Monday night, September 19th, 1881, 
we all have witnessed his trials, and sufferings, 
and victories. 

Farewell, beloved one, farewell, till we meet 
on the other side of the river, where there are 
no more changes, or tears, or death. 



14 



Hon. JAMES A. GARFIELD, LL. D., 

Late President of the United States. 

Oh. Sptt. 19th, iSSi. 

By C. D. BRADLEE. 

Our leader 's gone, his work is done, 
His battles fought, his contests won; 
He 's gone from sight, and up to God I 
How keen the blow, how sharp the rod. 

Our chief has left us I we bow low, 
And all seems dark; we cannot know 
How great the loss, what yet maj be 
Our heavj lot, by God's decree. 

God help the wife, now so bereft. 
In grief so great, so lonely left; 
And turn her eyes in peace above. 
And guide her steps with holy love. 

God help the aged mother dear. 
And bring her to his heart most near. 
And make her soul all still and calm, 
And fill her with a sacred balm. 

And those whose father is away, 
God cheer and comfort, day by day, 
And point them to the blessed shore, 
Where pain and death can be no more. 

The members of the council too, 
O God, defend, bless what they do; 
Lead them to say, ''Thy will be done" 
Through Jesus Christ, the holy one. 



i..u» ^- 



IS 



The country, misjhty Father, save 
In times so sad, and hours so grave; 
And let the people patient be, 
And look in trembling faith to Thee. 

For him we praj who now is chief, 
Stationed on guard, as a relief, 
Chosen, should one depart from sight, 
To take his work by legal right. 

O watch him. Father, day by day, 
Keep him from weakness, Lord, we pray; 
As he shall greet his honors large, 
O help him bear the heavy charge. 

This prayer, in grief, we offer now. 
Lord teach us what to say, and how 
To bear thy will, and meet our loss, 
And greet our pain, and take our cross. 



APPENDIX 



HYMNS SUNG. 

I. 

IN MEMORIAM. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 



REST, NOBLE CHIEF. 

By C. D. BRADLEE, Pastor of the Harrison Square Church, Boston, Mass. 
Printed in Boston Daily Advertiser, Sept. 21, iSSi. 
Sung at the Harrison Square Church, Sunday, September 25th, I 
TWK. — Federal Street. 

Rest, noble chief, and sweetly rest, 
Thy work is done, God's will is best; 
A faithful life is finished now; 
The seal of death is on thy brow. 

Rise, noble chief, rise up to Heaven, 
Another life our God has given; 
And angel robes are thine by right, 
And all thy days shall now be bright. 

Take now thy crown, beloved of all. 
And hear our God's approving call; 
Whilst we on earth bow low and weep, 
And sad and lonely vigils keep. 



II. 
THE FUTURE WORLD. 

By J. Taylor. 

There is a state unknown, unseen, 
Where parted souls must be; 

And but a step doth lie between 
That world of souls and me. 

I see no light, I hear no sound, 
When midnight shades are spread; 

Yet angels pitch their tents around 
And guard my quiet bed. 

The things unseen, O God, reveal; 

My spirit's vision clear, 
Till I shall feel and see and know 

That those I love are near. 

Impart the faith that soars on high, 

Beyond this earthly strife; 
That holds sweet converse with the sky, 

And lives eternal life. 



III. 

THE REDEEMED IN HEAVEN. 

Bv MONTGO.MERY. 

Who are these in bright array. 

This innumerable throng, 
Round the altar night and day. 

Hymning one triimiphant song? — 
" Worthy is the Lamb once slain, 

Blessing, honor, glory, power. 
Wisdom, riches, to obtain. 

New dominion every hour." 



19 

These through fiery trials trod ; 

These from great allliction came: 
Now, before the throne of God, 

Sealed with his Ahnightj Name. 
Clad in raiment pure and white, 

Victor-palms in every hand, 
Through their dear Redeemer's might, 

More than conquerors they stand. 

Hunger, thirst, disease unknown, 

On immortal fruits they feed; 
Then the Lamb amidst the throne 

Shall to living fountains lead. 
Joy and gladness, banish sighs; 

Perfect love dispels all fear; 
And forever from their eyes 

God shall wipe away the tear. 



20 



Selections from -the Holy Bible 

For the first Sunday after the Death of the late President 
of the United State's, 

Hon. JAMES A. GARFIELD, LL. D. 

(I) 
The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high 
places ; how are the mighty tallen. 

(2) 

How is the strong staff broken, and the 
beautiful rod. 

(3) 

For behold the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth 
take away from Jerusalem, and from Judah. the 
stay and the staff; the mighty man, and the 
prophet, and the prudent, and the honorable 
man, and the counsellor, and the eloquent 
orator. 

(4) 

And there they mourned with a great and very 
sore lamentation. 

(5) 
Know ye not that there is a prince, and a 
great man fallen this day in Israel. 



21 



(6) 

Thus saith the Lord God, In the day when 
he went down to the grave, I caused a mourn- 
ing- 

■ (7) 

Behold at evening-tide trouble, and before the 
morning, he is not. 

(8) 
He being dead, yet speaketh. 

(9) 
Consider how great this man was. 

(lO) 

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the 
counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way 
of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 
But his delight is in the law of the Lord. 

(11) 
In his law does he walk all the day long. 

(12) 

But the souls of the righteous are in the hand 
of God, and there shall no torment touch them. 

(13) 
What I do, thou knowest not now, but thou 
shalt know hereafter. "* 



22 

(14) 
Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth. 

(15) 
Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, 
for the end of that man is peace. 

(i6) 

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death 
of his saints. 

(17) 

So teach us to number our days that we may 
apply our hearts unto wisdom. 

(i8) 

It is the Lord, let him do what seems to him 
good. 

(19) 

Even so Father, for thus it seems good in thy 
sight. 

(20) 

Thy will, not mine, be done. 

(21) 

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. 

(22) 

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who 
made Heaven and earth. 



23 



The following beautiful hymn was the favorite 
one of the late lamented President, and when- 
ever he visited Hiram, by his request, it was 
always sung : 

THE FIELDS ARE WHITE, Etc. 

Ho, reapers of life's harvest, 

Why stand with rusted blade, 
Until the night draws round thee, 

And day begins to fade? 
Why stand je idle, waiting 

For reapers more to come? 
The golden morn is passing, 

Why sit ye idle, dumb? 

Thrust in your sharpened sickle, 

And gather in the grain ; 
The night is fast approaching, 

And soon will come again. 
Thy Master calls for reapers ; 

And shall he call in vain? 
Shall sheaves lie there ungathered, 

And waste upon the plain? 

Come down from hill and mountain, 

In morning's ruddy glow, 
Nor wait until the dial 

Points to the noon below; 
And come with the strong sinew. 

Nor faint in heat or cold ; 
And pause not till the evening 

Draws round its wealth of gold. 



24 

Mount up the heights of wisdom, 

And crush each error low; 
Keep back no words of knowledge, 

That human hearts should know. 
Be faithful to thy mission, 

In service of thy Lord ; 
And then a golden chaplet 

Shall be thy just reward. 



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